Graham makes 'smooth transition' to being back with Ravens

For the Ravens, familiarity was one of the biggest perks of bringing in Shayne Graham as injury insurance for Billy Cundiff, who missed practice again Thursday with a calf injury. Graham, an 11-year NFL veteran, spent time with the Ravens in training camp in 2010, going down to the wire with Cundiff for the job.

Graham had spent time with five teams since -- kicking in games for three of them -- and impressed the Ravens at a tryout two weeks ago. Signed Wednesday, he’ll likely kick Saturday against the Cleveland Browns.

“He’s in real good kicking condition,” special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg said. “He’s been following a real disciplined schedule. He’s been treating every week at home like it were a NFL football week, plotting out his workouts and practicing just like it were a regular season. I think that’s really smart on his part, and it’s paid off.”

Graham looked comfortable in the locker room Wednesday, hanging out with former teammates and handling a bunch of questions from reporters. He remarked that it almost felt like he had never left here.

“A lot of the guys are familiar with me,” he said. “There’s a lot of good guys here, so it’s a real smooth transition for me. Having the operation here, the snapper and holder, those guys are phenomenal.”

Punter Sam Koch, the team’s holder in kicking situations, also thinks the familiarity will be helpful.

“That’s the nice thing. A lot of it is just going to come down to him getting his timing down with us,” he said. “Me and [long snapper] Morgan [Cox] are going to be the same. It was nice working with him when we had him in training camp. They’re both kind of the same [technique-wise]. They both take the same amount of steps. It will just be him trying to get his timing down and get used to us between the snap and the hold.”

And when it comes to Graham making kicks, Koch has no worries about the new guy.

“He’s been in the league for 11 years now,” Koch said. “He’s sustained a great career. And from the looks of it, seeing him kick each week, he’s got a lot to add still. He’s a great kicker, and he’s got a lot of talent.”